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Otatara Safety Snapshot

Southland, New Zealand

Police data to August 2026

Generates a printable report with charts & summary.

Is Otatara safe? Yes. Otatara has a safety score of 80/100, meaning less recorded crime harm per resident than about 80% of New Zealand suburbs, with 9.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents a year. It is the #15 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland.

The annual total crime rate in Otatara is 9.7 crimes per thousand residents, making it the #15 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. The overall crime trend in the area has decreased in recent months with criminal activity peaking in December 2025, January 2026, May 2026.

How the safety score works

Safety Score (NZCHI-adjusted)

iHow it works
80 / 100
Crimes per 1,000 residents
i
9.7
Regional rank #15 / 53 (Top 50%)
3-Month Trend
i
▼90%(improving)

Offence breakdown · past 12 months

Based on total incidents. Police data to August 2026
  • Burglary 19.0%
    Burglary accounts for 19.0 percent of incidents.
  • Theft 8.0%
    Theft accounts for 8.0 percent of incidents.
  • Assault 3.0%
    Assault accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.
  • Sexual Offences 3.0%
    Sexual Offences accounts for 3.0 percent of incidents.
View full safety overview for Otatara ›

Otatara Demographics

2023 Census data

Loaded live from the API for this suburb.

Population

3,435

Households

1,218

Median income

$130,093

Median rent

$420

Age distribution

Share of total population.

Age 0-14
723 (21%)
Age 15-64
2,202 (64.1%)
Age 65+
519 (15.1%)

Birthplace

Share of stated birthplace records.

Born in NZ
2,970 (86.8%)
Born overseas
450 (13.2%)

Ethnicity

Normalised to ethnicity responses (can exceed population).

European
3,210 · 82.4%
Māori
504 · 12.9%
Pacific
45 · 1.2%
Asian
75 · 1.9%
MELAA
21 · 0.5%
Other
42 · 1.1%

Home tenure (as stored)

Normalised to stated total when present.

Owned
2,607 · 99.8%
Not owned
549 · 21%
Other
114 · 4.4%

Household composition

Normalised to household composition total.

One family
984 (27.1%)
Two families
21 (0.6%)
Three+ families
3 (0.1%)
Other composition
2,619 (72.2%)

Demographic data sourced from Stats NZ , licensed under CC BY 4.0

FAQ

  • Is Otatara a safe suburb to live in?

    Otatara has a safety score of 80/100, making it the #15 safest of 53 ranked suburbs in Southland Region. 82% of recorded crime is property crime (theft, burglary, fraud or damage).

  • What is the crime rate in Otatara?

    The annual crime rate in Otatara is 9.7 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents.

Crime heatmap for Otatara

For deeper suburb insights visit CrimeStats.co.nz

Nearby Suburbs